[wngfan]

1. How do you determine what set your going to put together or do you work on them all?

I use to collect anything and everything hockey but that was back in the 70s and 80s when there wasnt 1000 sets every year. Since Topps no longer produces hockey cards I have only collected the basic UD set and the Heroes & Propsects sets

2. How many boxes to you buy before you start piecing it together?

I pick up a few blasters here and there, usually til I hit the bigger YGs since I refuse to pay $75+ on a new rookie.

3. When you buy boxes do you trade the "hits" for cards you need to complete the set? (I'm finding it hard to trade a /10 card for some commons. This is something I will have to get over))

Anything I dont need for the sets, I try to trade for cards I need for the set or some other set. But like others have said, its rough trying to trade. People only see money these days. Just because that card has a stamp on it xx/10 doesnt mean you will become instantly rich either. I gladly trade anything I have for stuff I need and have trade $50 rookies for a few common cards for a set. I really have no use for jersey cards, I try to give those away as fast as I can.

4. How do you store your set? (binder or set box and if set box do you put the cards in a penny sleeve before they go in the box?)

99.9% of my sets are all in penny sleeves and cardboard boxes. So much easier to store and take up a lot less room. I have 4 sets in sheets and binders 74/75 WHA, 76/77 WHA, 77/78 WHA and the 10/11 UD 20th Anniversary set. I just love the way that set looks!! lol





Its really up to you on how you will get the most enjoyment from your collection. Most of all, keep it fun and dont worry about the "money"

[mjmj1966]

Thanks everyone for the input. Definitely have some things to think about before I get too involved.

[filamuraireborn]

Another one from the other forum. XstreamINsanity is a moderator that frequents the basketball area.

I agree with most of what's been said previously. First you have to determine if you're collecting it for you to keep or the chase and kickback. If it's for the kickback, go after something that isn't too expensive, but good looking and kind of difficult to get. If it's kind of difficult for you to get it, if you put the set together, it'll be that much easier to sell the set.

However, if you're like me, and it's to keep then go after whatever your wallet can handle and what looks good to you. Some of the sets I collect would not sell for more than $10 as a completed set (like my 1993-94 Upper Deck Pro Visions set) but I think they're cool and when I look back at them, I can see the highlights of that year and before. Ideally, when I first got into card collecting, I wanted to have a complete set of every set. But when they started limiting the print run of cards, that goal was thrown out the window. I'm not a person that goes after master sets, but if there is a set that has multiple parallels, I say go after the one you like the best. Take for instance jpleazme805's example of 2009-10 Limited. To me, the Blue set looks the best, so I'd go after that one. I don't think I could ever go after all 5 parallel/base of that set (base, blue, green, red, gold - I didn't include black because it's 1/1). If I were to ever try for the 1997-98 Fleer set again, I might actually have to do the base and parallel. I like the matte finish of the base, but I really like the Tiffany collection as well (but that's hard to get).

Whatever you choose, make sure you choose it for the right reasons. If it's kickback, it has to be something you see people chasing. If it's to keep, it's something that's worth chasing for you and something you think looks nice. Good luck on your decision.

[wickabee]

1. How do you determine what set your going to put together or do you work on them all?

Honestly, whatever's cheap, haha. I tend to buy boxes/blasters/packs in spurts and if I find myself buying much of the same product, as I did with 09-10 Series 1/2 and 98-99 UD Choice, I'll sift through and if I'm near a base set, I'll try to finish it. If I'm not near a set or don't like the look of the set (08-09 Artifacts) I'll just take the hits and move on. I once got about a dozen 07-08 MVP blasters for $35 and ended up putting that one together too.

2. How many boxes to you buy before you start piecing it together?

There's no number. With the Series 1/2 I got to a point where I was about 50 cards short of the Series 1 base and that's when I made my decision. With the UD Choice, I probably went through about a dozen boxes before I decided to put it together. Still don't have the base finished on that one.

3. When you buy boxes do you trade the "hits" for cards you need to complete the set? (I'm finding it hard to trade a /10 card for some commons. This is something I will have to get over))

This is why even most set collector's have a PC player or two. Me, I collect Trevor Linden and a couple other guys so if I'm breaking a box for the purpose of the set, that hit looks like a nice Linden (Or Brust or Canucks RC, etc). If you can find a trader who wants the card and has a whole swack of your set needs, well, sometimes it's nice to help another trader out too. Minor inserts go a long way towards set-need trades and there's always selling so you can buy your set needs/boxes/whatever.

4. How do you store your set? (binder or set box and if set box do you put the cards in a penny sleeve before they go in the box?)

I Keep the base set in a binder until it's finished and then it goes into a box. I find it's a lot easier to keep track of when it's laid out in the binder, but those pages can become valuable real estate as I also keep commons/inserts of my PC players in binders. Once they go into a box, no pennysleeve or anything, just in the box and into storage.
For RCs, it depends on the set. Something like MVP or Victory go in the binder with the rest. RCs from a set like Artifacts, Series 1/2 YGs They go in a pennysleeve in a box and when the base set goes in the box they join it still in the pennysleeves. That's just me.

5. If you use a binder and the set contains autos or game used do you put these cards in the binder or store them separate?

I wouldn't keep autos or GU in a binder. Pennysleeve and toploader.

[bonnev659]

for me, depends on how the set is or what the set is inside

for example I did the ITG ULT Days gone by set featuring defunct teams... as it had a few cards I had already so I went for the set.